External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar Saturday said that ties between the United States (US) and Pakistan have historically been driven by a “politics of convenience”, with past concerns often set aside to suit present needs.
“They have a history with each other. And they have a history of overlooking that history. It’s not the first time we have seen things. And the interesting thing is that when you look sometimes at the certificates that somebody in the military will give, it’s the same military which went into Abbottabad and found you know who there”, Jaishankar said.
This is seen as an apparent reference to the 2011 raid at a fortified compound in Pakistan’s Abbotabad by US SEAL Team 6 operatives that tracked down and killed al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
The minister, while speaking at the ET World Leaders Forum, said such ties between Washington and Islamabad often reflect the “politics of convenience,” but stressed that India keeps in mind the “larger structural strengths” of its relationship with the US.
“The issue is when countries are focused on doing politics of convenience. They keep trying to do this, some of it can be tactical, some can have other benefits,” he noted.
“I know what I am about. I know what my strengths are, I know what is the importance and relevance of my relationship. So that’s what guides me,” he added.
VIDEO | Speaking at the ET World Leaders Forum, EAM S Jaishankar on Pak-US ties says, “US-Pak have a history with each other and a habit of overlooking that history, politics of convenience, some of it can be tactical.”
(Video Source: X account of @DrSJaishankar)
(Full video… pic.twitter.com/O0uOxiOOcx
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 23, 2025
The minister’s comments come after Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir’s twin visits made to the US in recent months for talks covering trade, economic development, and cryptocurrency. Separately, Islamabad has closed a deal with Washington to build strategic oil reserves in Pakistan.
On Operation Sindoor and US President Donald Trump’s claims of mediating a ceasefire, which India has repeatedly denied, Jaishankar said the decision to halt hostilities was between New Delhi and Islamabad.
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“On the issue of mediating, since the 1970s, for more than 50 years now, there’s a national consensus in this country that we do not accept mediation in our relations with Pakistan,” Jaishnakar said at the interaction.
“It is a fact that phone calls were made at the time. Calls were made by the US and other countries as well. This is not a secret. Almost every phone call I had, definitely every American phone call I had, is there on my X account. So, when something like this happens, countries do call up… I mean, after all, don’t I call up? I mean, when Israel-Iran was happening, I called up. When Russia-Ukraine was happening, I called up,” he pointed out.
“So, in today’s international relations, because it is an interdependent world and those who have a stronger history of international relations will do that. But that is one thing. It is something quite different to assert mediation or to assert that an outcome, which was negotiated between India and Pakistan, was not negotiated between India and Pakistan. It was.”
VIDEO | Speaking at the ET World Leaders Forum, EAM S Jaishankar on India-Pak conflict during Op Sindoor
says, “Calls were made, but there was no mediation; India-Pak DGMOs spoke.”(Video Source: X account of @DrSJaishankar)
(Full video available on PTI Videos –… pic.twitter.com/9FrhRbwvqR
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 23, 2025
Jaishankar also responded to repeated allegations by the Trump administration that India was “profiteering” by buying discounted Russian crude oil and then selling refined petroleum products at premium prices in Europe and other places. “It’s funny to have people who work for a pro-business American administration accusing other people of doing business… That’s really curious. If you have a problem buying oil or refined products from India, don’t buy it. Nobody forces you to buy it. But Europe buys, America buys, so you don’t like it, don’t buy it,” he said.
